Lower Interest Rates
Boost Korean Stocks

Buoyed by a stock-market rally in New York and armed with ample cash from local investors, South Korea's main stock index soared 5.6%, or 44.82 points, to a 35-month-high of 842.32.

Several other regional markets also enjoyed healthy gains, with key indexes advancing 3.4% in Hong Kong, 2.1% in Manila and Taipei, 1.4% in Singapore and Bangkok and 1.1% in Tokyo. But shares in Malaysia continued to drift lower in thin trading, while Jakarta's market was closed for Monday's general election in Indonesia.